Hundreds rally near Galleria against Gaza attacks

Protesters rally for GazaArab-Americans say friends, family are suffering, urge end to bitter strife

JEANNIE KEVER, Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Published 6:30 am, Sunday, December 28, 2008

Photo: SHARÓN STEINMANN, CHRONICLE

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Demonstrators gathered Sunday along Post Oak and Westheimer near the Galleria to protest the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Demonstrators gathered Sunday along Post Oak and Westheimer near the Galleria to protest the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Photo: SHARÓN STEINMANN, CHRONICLE

Hundreds rally near Galleria against Gaza attacks

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Hundreds of people lined the busiest intersection in the Galleria on Sunday, chanting and waving Palestinian flags to protest Israeli's bombing in Gaza, a retaliation for Hamas' barrage of rocket fire into southern Israel.

"People are very upset, obviously. They are angry," said Said Fattouh, host of a radio talk show, Arab Voices. "Nobody knows when it will stop."

The protest grew spontaneously, with several Arab-American organizations spreading the word. People said they heard about it through e-mail, text messages and telephone calls and traveled to Westheimer and Post Oak to participate.

Members of the Houston Coalition for Justice Not War said they would hold a second protest at 4 p.m. today at the Israeli Consulate.

Many Palestinians in the crowd Sunday said the news from friends and family who live in Gaza has been bleak.

"It's really bad," said Sahar Abusada, who grew up in Gaza and had spoken to family members earlier Sunday. "Blood. Bodies. No food. No electricity."

She and other protesters said they hoped passing shoppers would take notice and seek more information.

Israel said it attacked to end the rocket fire and stop Gaza's rulers from stockpiling weapons. Israel pulled out of the area in 2005 after occupying it for almost 40 years, but it still controls the borders.

Hoping for attention

Rami Kouni said he suspects most Americans have paid little attention to the attacks. "The people driving by, they don't see what's going on," he said. "Maybe now they will pay attention."

Other people in the crowd said they came to support to the Palestinians living in Gaza.

Asmaa Hussein, 19, said she and her sisters, Mariam, 15, and Sarah, 13, are Egyptian. "But we want to let everyone know what is going on (in Gaza) isn't acceptable," she said. "Our hearts are with them."

A few people stepped out of a nearby Starbucks to snap photos, but most said they had no opinion on the protest or the conflict. "It's complicated on both sides," one man said.

Motorists honked, although it was hard to tell whether they were expressing solidarity with the cause or merely annoyed that traffic was moving so slowly.

A few protesters held both Palestinian and U.S. flags, illustrating what one of the organizers, Ibrahim Ashrawi, said was his hope for Houston's Palestinian community — that it will work its way into mainstream American society, thereby gaining a voice.

His complaint is not with the Israeli people, he said, noting that many Israelis, including some Israeli soldiers, don't support the continued conflict.

He and others in the crowd said American citizens should pressure their government to intervene. But some people called for more Arab involvement, too.

Arab leaders "should stand up and say no," said Alaa Issa, a Palestinian who has lived in Houston for a decade. "Somebody has to stop it."